IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! Three quick, classic cases.

UNCONNECTED COINCIDENCES, PART FOUR

QUESTIONING MRS JOYCE

"Tell us what you saw and heard."

The woman sat straight, her whole being exuding pride to the tip of the nose, turned up to signal being of a higher quality than may appear from the humble looks, delightfully accompanied by the expression of smelling a powerful stench. It was such a charming trait to him, to sort of imitate aristocracy when interacting with learned people, one that he always validated to the fullest.

"It's not much." It was never much, and then, out of the blue, the case was solved. "I heard some commotion happening outside, on the street, so I went to my window to take a glance. Two men were arguing over some kind of business, who even knows. I was about to go yell to stop making so much noise at that late hour, when one took some object I couldn't see, and used it to hit the other on the head. The man fell down. I heard Mrs Howell scream. Then," she stopped for a moment, for emphasis, or to take a break from speaking so fast. "The first man ran away. That's when we came here."

"In which direction did the man run to?"

"The left."

"Toward the closed road?"

"Exactly! I thought it was peculiar, perhaps hid in someone's house. I hope there are no more victims, this is already too much," she lamented, talking her handkerchief to her dry eyes.

Alderton glanced over to Camden, who was taking her notes. She didn't seem to be following his train of thoughts just yet, judging by the deep lines in between her brows. It was more than alright: sometimes one gets caught up in particulars, forgetting the bigger picture, sometime one gets lost in the vastness, unable to see the glaring detail. "One last question, Mrs Joyce. Do you know Mr Ives, the gentleman who stopped to help? Is he from the neighbourhood?"

"No, not that I know of. I've never seen the man around. I assume he is someone's secret lover, with how late he was taking his stroll."

That was the sentence to make the assistant tilt her head up. "Wait, are you entirely sure that he's not from the neighbourhood?"

"I am, I could swear on my mum's grave, bless her soul. I see all that came in and out, what I don't see I hear, sometimes I can even smell it. Don't you think these kinds of things are for you alone, Mr and Miss Detectives! That Mr Ives has never been around here, I say."

"Thank you for your time, madam. You can go home now."

(AN ABRUPT) CONCLUSION

With all the secrets being kept, it should have taken much longer to untangle it all. Instead, they were already at the conclusion of that whole business. Alderton was still each time surprised by the efficiency of two brains, four eyes and four hands working together, and each time more inclined to get used to it.

"I believe it might be the moment to spe-"

Before he could finish the sentence, screaming was heard from outside, followed by a loud thump. Miss Camden while stood from her chair, stepping toward the door, which was promptly almost kicked off its hinges. Neither was able to react fast enough: Mr Ives needed only two steps to get to the woman and push her to the ground, one more to attack the detective, who reflexively used his chair to defend himself; whilst his opponent was distracted, he charged at him, and managed to push him against the wall. The attempt to restrain Ives proved futile, as the other was too strong. Instead, Alderton got punched in the stomach:  the aggressor had the upper hand. As Alderton was starting to accept the possibility of an early departure, a sign from a higher power slapped him with fortune beyond his mortal comprehension.

"Get your hands off of him, or I'll shoot."

And suddenly, the Greek statue of fortitude re-emerged, this time with a pistol in her hand, the fire in those eyes burning as bright as ever.